Counterpoint
"Quinn, stay still sweetie," Kathryn smiled as she tried to change the baby's diaper. Quinn mumbled something vaguely English, which mostly was baby babble. "There we go. Now that wasn't so hard now was it?"
"No," she smiled before rolling over. Almost a year old, her mentality was that of a two-year-old, although she didn't physically look any older than ten months.
"I didn't think so," Kathryn smiled as Chakotay walked out of the bathroom.
"Thank you for letting me use your shower," he smiled, before bending down to where Kathryn was on the floor with Quinn. "You're not stinky anymore!"
Quinn just smiled and rolled over before she started to crawl away. "No problem. When you get on, get Carrey or B'Elanna to check out your sonic shower."
"I will," Chakotay said as Quinn continued to crawl away. "Now duty calls," he winked before he crawled over and stayed above Quinn as she started to shriek with laughter. Kathryn laughed and sat back leaning against her couch as she watched Chakotay with Quinn.
"The Devore ships are assuming a tactical formation," Chakotay said as he put Quinn in her mother's chair. Kathryn looked at her daughter and took a breath before tapping her com-badge.
"Bridge to Transporter room. Status?" Kathryn asked.
"All set here, Captain. Pattern cohesion looks stable," Harry replied.
"Cargo Bay One, Report?" Kathryn asked as she slowly paced her bridge.
"The bay is clear," Seven announced.
"They're powering weapons," Chakotay said as Quinn looked at her father with scared eyes.
"Why do they bother? They know we won't resist," Tom complained.
"Protocol, Mister Paris," Kathryn replied.
"They're hailing," Chakotay said as Quinn crawled into her father's arms.
"Gaharay vessel, prepare to be inspected. Crew members are instructed to step away from their stations," Prax said as he appeared on the view-screen.
"We know the drill," Kathryn said impatiently.
"Sidearms and scanning equipment are to be set aside. Deviation from this or any other inspection protocol will not be tolerated," Prax said before the screen went blank.
"All hands, this is the Captain. Prepare to be boarded by Devore inspection teams. Give them your full co-operation. Let's get this over with," She said glancing at Quinn who was about ready to cry. "Sssh, this'll be over soon."
"Kay," she whispered
"Their soldiers have materialized on decks fifteen, eleven, four and one," Chakotay said as Quinn crawled to her mother and held onto her leg. Kathryn sighed and picked up her daughter as a familiar voice was heard over the com.
"Captain Janeway, report to your Ready room. Oh and bring the little one." Kathryn sighed and walked into her ready room as she held onto Quinn.
"Good morning, Captain, Quinn. I took the liberty of playing this music throughout your ship," he said referring to the (classical?) music now playing over the intercom. "I thought it might help your crew relax. Sometimes these inspections can be stressful," Kashyk said as he sat in her chair.
"How thoughtful," Kathryn replied with a sarcastic smile.
"I've replicated some coffee. Black, as usual?" Kashyk asked.
"Black," Kathryn repeated.
"Prax here still refuses to try it but then, he's a man of few pleasures. Captain, Please, make yourself at home," Kashyk said. "Quinn so nice to see you again."
Quinn looked at her mother, before she clung to her tighter. Kashyk laughed softly and stood up.
"Remarkable. How old is this?" Kashyk asked as he gestured to the ship. (You might want to clarify that 'ship' is not referring to voyager)
"About six hundred years. My grandfather gave it to me when I was a child, I was about Quinn's age," she replied.
"It seems you have a long-standing obsession with exploration, Captain. I, on the other hand, have much more in common with this ancient soldier," Kashyk explained. (again needs clarification for people who may not have seen the ep)
"He's from Earth's classical period. It produced some of our greatest artists as well," Kathryn explained.
"Your culture has many contradictions. Violence and beauty, science and faith, all somehow mingled harmoniously. Like the counterpoint of this music. Mahler. Symphony Number One, am I correct?" Kashyk asked gesturing to the music that played through the ship.
"You're getting to know my musical database better than I do," Kathryn said as Quinn started to fuss a bit. "Hush…" she whispered.
"I've had time to review it since our last encounter," he replied.
"Tell me, are all of your inspections this personal?" Kathryn asked raising an eyebrow and looking at the Inspector.
"I'm just trying to get to know you, Captain. There's no reason for us to be adversaries. I could be your friend, and right now you could certainly use one," Kashyk replied a glint of evil in his eye.
"Really? Why is that?" Kathryn asked giving Quinn her finger to suck on. The baby was still teething and she didn't want to be anywhere but with her mother.
"Your predicament? I don't expect it's been easy. Thousands of light-years from home, navigating by strange stars, trespassing in other people's space, ignoring their laws," Kashyk replied offering his own finger to Quinn who tried to bite him.
"We're just trying to get back to Earth, Inspector," Kathryn replied.
"Through the Devore Imperium?" Kashyk asked as he watched the mother and child.
"It's tough to avoid," Kathryn replied back.
"Still, most people make the effort. We don't exactly embrace outsiders," Kashyk said.
"Gaharay?" Kathryn asked.
"It means strangers. Which brings me to a matter that could threaten our friendship. I've examined your crew manifest from our last inspection. Commander Tuvok, Ensign Vorik. Vulcans. Ensigns Suder and Jurot. Betazoids. All telepaths, and yet for some reason you neglected to mention them," Kashyk said turning Kathryn's monitor around to see the pictures of her crewmen.
"For a very simple reason. They're dead. Tuvok, Vorik, and Jurot died in a shuttle crash about two months ago. Suder was killed in a conflict with a species called the Kazon," Kathryn said evenly. Kashyk looked at the woman before he turned to the child in her arms.
"Is your mother telling the truth?" Kashyk asked before Quinn started to cry. "That's fortunate, for you I mean. If I'd known you were harboring telepaths I would have had to arrest you for breaking our cardinal protocol."
"They were valued members of my crew, Inspector, not criminals," Kathryn replied.
"Perhaps. Captain do you trust me?"
"Not for a second," Kathryn replied confidently as she tried to calm Quinn down.
"Exactly, and why should you? Trust has to be earned. It's gradual, and yet it's the foundation of every relationship, professional and personal. It's also a concept alien to the telepathic races. Why take someone at their word when you can simply read their mind?" Kashyk asked looking at the woman. "And will you shut up that child!"
"We've completed our inspection. There are no telepaths aboard. However, their sensor logs indicate they deviated from their assigned course on two occasions," Prax replied.
"In both cases, to avoid ion storms," Kathryn said quickly.
"Imperative thirty two, codicil six twenty six. All gaharay vehicles that deviate from prescribed flight vectors will be impounded, their crews detained and relocated," Prax replied.
"Prax, it's clear the Captain didn't intend to break protocol. I expect we can overlook these infractions," Kashyk said with a secret smile.
"Sir?" Prax asked looking at Kashyk before nodding. "Yes, sir."
"Captain, I'm a reasonable man, and you've been co-operative but consider this a reminder. You have a long trip through Devore space and good friends can be an asset," Kashyk replied.
"I'll keep it in mind," Kathryn said before the Devore vanished from her ready room. Taking a deep breath she held onto Quinn and bounced her lightly. "Sssh. Its okay, no need to cry."
Mess hall
"Think," Kathryn said as she paced the messhall with a sleeping Quinn in her arms. She didn't feel safe having the baby out of her eyes while in this area.
"I'm thinking," Kashyk replied.
"Think harder. Four wormhole appearances less than twenty light-years apart. There's no pattern," Kathryn groaned as she tried to think.
"Did you apply a fractal coefficient?"
"Didn't work."
"Neutrino flux parameters? Statistical algorithms?" Kashyk asked as he watched the woman pace.
"Every one I could find. This wormhole defies analysis. Maybe Torat was right. We're just out of our league," she said with defeat.
"It's not like you to give up. Think harder," Kashyk said.
"How do you predict a random occurrence?" she asked looking at the alien.
"You follow your instincts," Kashyk replied as Kathryn looked down at Quinn and kissed her head. "Captain?"
"Counterpoint. It's in all great music. Parallel melodies playing against one another. We've been looking at the obvious, frequency, location, timing, but each of those parameters could have a counterpoint in subspace," Kathryn explained as she used one hand to emphasize her point.
"If we could run an algorithm based on subspace harmonics it might reveal our pattern," Kashyk added.
"Computer, run a sub-spatial trans-kinetic analysis on the wormhole data," Kathryn ordered.
Analysis in progress.
"This'll take a minute," Kathryn smiled picking up her coffee mug.
"I'm going to miss this 'coffee' of yours," Kashyk smiled softly at his own mug of coffee.
"Well I'll give you the recipe," Kathryn replied as she settled Quinn on one of the couches.
"Thank you," Kashyk said softly.
"You don't sound too happy about leaving," Kathryn said as she sat next to Quinn and watched her daughter sleep.
"The Brenari aren't about to embrace a former Inspector. I'll be feared, hated for what I represent," Kashyk explained.
"Anxiety doesn't become you, Inspector. Try to relax a little," Kathryn replied as Quinn's eyes fluttered open. She smiled softly and picked up the baby.
"I suppose you liked me better in uniform," Kashyk asked.
"I haven't decided whether I like you at all," Kathryn said as she watched Kashyk look out the window at what could only be described as glowing lights in the sky. Quinn watched them with amazement.
"We call them the Kolyan Kolyar. Infinite Spirals," Kashyk told the little girl. Kathryn smiled and adjusted Quinn.
"Beautiful."
"As a boy, I spent years gazing at these lights. This is the last time I'll ever see them," He said softly.
"We have something similar back on Earth. The Aurora Borealis," Kathryn smiled. "Or as most people call them, The Northern Lights. On a clear night, in northern Canada, the lights are as bright as if you were watching them from a star ship."
"Which you too may never see again. I suppose we're both refugees, in a way," Kashyk said.
"I'm still counting on getting this ship home," Kathryn replied.
"Are you sure you'll be welcome when you do? I came across something else in your database. The Prime Directive?" Kashyk asked as Kathryn looked at Quinn who was very much fascinated with the Kolyan Kolyar.
"The Federation's cardinal protocol."
"It seems you violated it when you rescued these telepaths."
"Well, let's just say I usually go with my instincts and sort it out later at the Board of Inquiry. Those Admirals and I were on a first name basis, you know. And you're risking a lot, too. Why?"
"Three months ago my teams were inspecting a plasma refining vessel. We found a family of telepaths hiding in one of the extraction tanks. There was a child, very young. A tad older than Quinn… She'd been inside it for days, barely able to breathe. When I lifted her out and set her down on the deck she thanked me. I sent her to a relocation center with the others, knowing full well what would happen to her. After that, I could think of nothing else, and when I couldn't stand it any longer. Then I saw Quinn, and… you're my deliverance, Captain."
Analysis complete.
"It worked. It looks like it'll appear in about three days, less than eight light-years from here," Kathryn said looking at the computer screen.
"The Tehara system," Kashyk replied.
"Is that a problem?" Kathryn asked looking at the alien as she adjusted the baby.
"There's an automated sensor array between here and Tehara," Kashyk replied.
"Can we go around it?" Kathryn asked as Quinn tried to reach for the screen. Instead Kathryn handed the child her com-badge to play with.
"We'd never make it in time. We'll have to find a way to avoid detection," Kashyk replied.
"Let's do it in the morning. We've done enough for tonight. And I need to get Quinn into her bed," Kathryn said as Kashyk looked out the window. "Are you saying goodbye? There'll be other spirals."
"They've just never looked quite so beautiful before. Could be the company I'm keeping…" He said.
"Or the polarization axis of the windows," Kathryn replied.
"That must be it," Kashyk replied as Kathryn rolled her eyes and gathered up Quinn's blanket and bottle before walking out of the messhall.
"Kathryn?" Chakotay said softly walking into the messhall, where he saw Kathryn cradling Quinn in her arms watching the stars fly by. Kathryn looked up and gave him a small smile. "What are you doing here?"
"Quinn couldn't sleep," Kathryn replied to the baby who was trying her hardest to keep her eyes open.
"Ah," Chakotay said sitting down next to the pair and looking out the window. "That was a different experience wasn't it?"
"Very much. I used his attraction to my advantage," Kathryn replied.
"You did what you had to do Kathryn," Chakotay replied.
"I had to pull out the big guns," Kathryn replied.
"Were you serious about keeping him on board?"
"I was. My offer was genuine. We could have used him," Kathryn replied.
"What about you?" Chakotay asked. Kathryn looked at Chakotay, then at Quinn.
"I have who I need," Kathryn replied. Chakotay smiled and leaned over to brush a kiss to Quinn's forehead.
